Ruud van Nistelrooy at his ‘lowest moment’ since taking charge of Leicester | OneFootball

Leicester boss Ruud van Nistelrooy says the 2-0 defeat to Crystal Palace was a big blow to the spirit in the camp after they suffered their sixth consecutive defeat.

The Foxes missed a host of chances and were punished seven minutes after the break when Jean-Philippe Mateta rounded Jakub Stolarczyk to slot home his sixth league goal of the season.

And with 12 minutes left Eberechi Eze’s dinked free-kick was finished emphatically by Marc Guehi as Palace extended their unbeaten run in away league games to five.

Van Nistelrooy admitted Wednesday’s loss was the lowest his side have felt during his brief time in charge.

“We kept spirits up after five losses and we will do it after today’s loss,” he said.

“There’s hope there, the sprit is there in the team, but today is a big blow.

“It was I think the lowest that we’ve felt so far in my spell because today we had high hopes of proving ourselves with points and a performance.

“These games are decided in both final thirds. We are able to create but we have to start finishing them. We are doing a lot well but in the key moments, we are not there to pull the trigger.

“We are responsible to give the hope back to the fans, it is our responsibility.”

Following the full-time whistle, boos rang around the King Power Stadium as Leicester missed the chance to climb out of the drop zone despite having 21 shots.

The former Manchester United striker and caretaker manager added: “I felt the support today was there. We felt the support, I felt the support.

“It’s up to us to turn this negative cycle around and to bring hope back into the fans’ hearts and minds and that’s what I’ll get up to do tomorrow again and it’s my mission to accomplish that.

“It’s clear the result is not good and it reflected in the second half and the level dropped too much.”

Palace have won three of their last four games in all competitions and now sit eight points clear of the relegation zone, while they and Tottenham have the joint-best defensive record in away league games.

Oliver Glasner was pleased with the outcome but admitted the performance was not up to scratch.

“We are very pleased with the result, with the three points and clean sheet,” he said.

“We are not really happy and satisfied with the performance, especially in the first half. We were lucky it was a draw at half-time.

“Big credit to the players that they could adjust it at half-time but I still think it was not our best performance.

“I didn’t know exactly that we have conceded the fewest goals in the Premier League in away games. This is crucial and it helps us.”